• June 27, 2020
• Morgan Stanley

Albert Dishner (CRD #1912362) is a Financial Advisor at Morgan Stanley in New York, NY. Albert Dishner has been in the securities industry since 1990 and previously worked at Credit Suisse Securities.

According to publicly available records released by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), on June 17, 2020, Albert Dishner was sanctioned by FINRA, suspending him for ten days and fining him $5,000, for allegedly exercising discretion in customer accounts without authorization. According to the FINRA sanction:

“Without admitting or denying the findings, Dishner consented to the sanctions and to the entry of findings that he exercised discretionary power in a customer’s brokerage accounts, executing securities transactions, including equities and option contracts without the customer’s prior written authorization and his member firm and, for the trades involving option contracts, a Registered Options Principal or Limited Principal – General Securities Sales Supervisor did not accept the accounts in writing as discretionary. The findings stated that the customer, a long-term client of Dishner, orally or implicitly gave him authority to exercise discretion in his accounts.”

For a copy of the FINRA sanction, click https://www.finra.org/sites/default/files/fda_documents/2016051048101%20Albert%20Dishner%20CRD%201912362%20AWC%20jlg.pdf

In addition to the foregoing, Albert Dishner has been the subject of four customer complaints during his career, alleging sales practice misconduct. Two of the complaints were denied. However, two resulted in settlements.

• August 2016—”CLAIMANT HAS ALLEGED NEGLIGENCE, BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY AND CONTRACT, AND VIOLATION OF FINRA RULES AND STATE AND FEDERAL SECURITIES LAWS, EXCESSIVE TRADING/CHURNING, AND FAILURE TO SUPERVISE IN HIS ACCOUNT FROM 2010 TO 2015.” The matter was settled for $205,000.
• September 2007—” CLIENT ALLEGED PURCHASE OF EBAY SHARES WAS TOO LARGE.” The matter was settled for $28,000.
For a copy of Albert Dishner’s CRD, click https://brokercheck.finra.org/individual/summary/1912362#disclosuresSection.

Unauthorized trading is strictly prohibited by FINRA rules. Before a transaction can be entered in a customer account, the Financial Advisor must first obtain verbal or written authorization from the client. In the absence of authorization, the transaction is subject to rescission by the customer.

Financial advisors have a legal and regulatory obligation to recommend only suitable investments that are appropriate for their clients’ needs and objectives. Their employing brokerage firm has a legal and regulatory obligation to supervise the Financial Advisors’ sales practices and dealings with clients. To the extent any of these duties are breached, the customer may be entitled to a recovery of his or her investment losses.

Reasonable basis suitability requires that a recommended investment or investment strategy be suitable or appropriate for at least some investors. Reasonable basis suitability requires an advisor to conduct adequate due diligence so that he or she can determine the risks and rewards of the investment or investment strategy.

Quantitative suitability requires a brokerage firm or financial advisor with actual or de facto control over a customer’s account to have a reasonable basis for believing that a series of recommended transactions – even if suitable when viewed in isolation – is not excessive and unsuitable for the customer when taken together in light of the customer’s investment profile. No single test defines excessive activity, but factors such as the turnover rate, the cost-equity ratio, and the use of in-and-out trading in a customer’s account may provide a basis for a finding that a member or associated person has violated the quantitative suitability obligation.

Customer-specific suitability requires that a member or associated person have a reasonable basis to believe that the recommendation is suitable for a particular customer based on that customer’s investment profile. Among the criteria that a financial advisor must evaluate to satisfy his or her customer-specific suitability obligations include the investor’s:
• Age
• Other investments
• Financial situation and needs
• Tax status
• Investment objectives
• Time horizon
• Liquidity needs
• Risk tolerance
• Any other information disclosed by the customer

The Wolper Law Firm, P.A. represents investors nationwide in securities litigation and arbitration on a contingency fee basis. Matt Wolper, the Managing Principal of the Wolper Law Firm, P.A., is a trial lawyer who has handled hundreds of securities cases during his career involving a wide range of products, strategies and securities. Prior to representing investors, he was a partner with a national law firm, where he represented some of the largest banks and brokerage firms in the world in securities matters. We can be reached at 800.931.8452 or by email at mwolper@wolperlawfirm.com.